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Central Reservoir Landslide

In January 2007, Oakland filed a public nuisance action against the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Evidence shows that leaks in the 100-year-old Central Reservoir, owned by EBMUD, led to a landslide that did serious damage to homes and a street in the Dimond neighborhood.

Videos of divers inspecting the reservoir clearly show numerous cracks and patchwork repairs. The video estimates that the reservoir loses thousands of gallons a day through hundreds of "mild to aggressive" leaks. Some individual cracks are draining a gallon every minute, the narrator says.

EBMUD has yet to take responsibility for damage caused by the May 2006 landslide. One home on McKillop Avenue remains totally destroyed. Citing national security, EBMUD has redacted many of the documents given to the City Attorney's Office in response to a public records request.

Click on the photo to watch a video about the case.

The neighborhood around the reservoir has been hit by a series of destructive landslides over the last eight decades. The City of Oakland is asking the court to compel EBMUD to pay for damages caused by the 2006 slide, and to repair the reservoir to prevent future slides.